40 Days & 40 Nights in South America: Day/Night 21 - Moving Down the Road

I have to verify that the outstanding reviews of the Tikay Killa's owner, Francisco, are right on the mark. This guy is full of life, loves to host people, has an active mind, and a nose for business. He not only runs the hotel and does all the cooking, but also runs an import/export business (among other things) on the side. He is always proactive to help any guest with any need, and really goes the extra mile or two. It is unfortunate our two days with him were limited by S's illness. Sadly, today we have to move on, if only half a mile down the road. Francisco, as part of his business operations, maintains good relations with a discreet and reliable arbolito. He offered to take some US dollars and convert them for us - as a valued customer he gets the best rate. I asked if he could get some Chilean pesos as well, and no problem. An hour later I had two piles of South American cash - ready to finish out the week and head over the Andes. Excellent service!

We had a quiet morning, reading and checking email, doing blog updates, etc. and about 10AM the skies opened up with a deluge of rain. Half an hour it was like hammers on the tin roof above. Then by noon the sun was out, and Francisco drove us down the road to Casa Cavangero, our next stop, for only one night. Julian Cavagnero greeted us and showed us to our room, which is really a casita or small house. Kitchen, bath, and living room downstairs with a twin and double bed in the loft above. Beautiful old building. Of course there were dogs, and they soon found S, who attracts the best sorts of animals. One was a rat terrier and there were two ancient dobermans as well. All were pretty dirty, being farm dogs and not house dogs. All friendly as well, especially the little rat terrier, who we decided to call "Spuds" due to his resemblance to a bull terrier in an ancient commercial. Check out the new place...

"Spuds" helps S make a phone call to Mom

Acting like locals, we had a ginormous lunch of empanadas, salad, pasta and a fine Malbec at Casa del Campo. Just after we ordered a solo biker parked and entered. He had a nice and well-used Yamaha Super Tenere. Although the bike had Argentine plates, he told us in excellent English that he was from Brazil, and that he also owned a Harley. There was a Harley rally coming to Mendoza, but the Super Tenere was just a much better ride. I could not agree more! He even offered us a glass from his bottle of wine. I guess when Brazilians leave their country, they can be less paranoid about a drop of wine with lunch!

Because K had dined there 3 times in a row, Casa del Campo gave her a complimentary bottle of Malbec as a reward!

We returned to the room for a nice siesta. The place was so calm and tranquil, we just had beer in the garden for our afternoon "tea." For dinner it was the free bottle of Malbec with cheese, salami and crackers from the nearby market, which we enjoyed in the room.